61 Years Ago Today The Prime Minister Of Israel Came Begging A Haredi Rabbi For Sanity, But The Haredi Rabbi Refused

“Two camels meet on a path, and one of the camels is weighed down with a load, and the other camel is not, the one not carrying the burden must give way to the one who is.” The moral of the parable, suggested Karelitz, was that, “We, the religious Jews, are analogous to the camel with the load – we carry a burden of hundreds of commandments. You” – secular Israel – “have to give way.”

The Chazon Ish, Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz

61 Years Ago Today, The Prime Minister Of Israel Came Begging A Haredi Rabbi For Sanity, But The Haredi Rabbi Refused
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

Today is the 61st anniversary of the famous meeting in Bnei Brak – then a largely Zionist Orthodox city – between Israel's Prime Minster David Ben Gurion and the Chazon Ish, Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz.

Karelitz was the most senior Ashkenazi haredi rabbi in Israel at the time, although he held no official position, and Ben Gurion needed him to act rationally and support his government's need to draft women into the military itself in support roles to free up men for combat. Ben Gurion was willing to allow these 18- and 19-year-old women to serve in a civilian national service where they would serve as teacher's aides, nursing home aides, and day care workers if that was more acceptable to their rabbis. But serve they must.

Karelitz, however, was not always a rational person. He was often an obstinate, intellectually dishonest and deceptive person who issued highly political rulings as halakha (Jewish law).

Besides what would happen in that fateful meeting 61 years ago, Karelitz is perhaps most known for his ban on use of electricity on Shabbat or Yom Tov.

At the time, several hasidic rebbes used electricity – turning on and off lights, for example – on Yom Tov while still refraining from doing so on Shabbat, and many Jews believed – correctly – that use of electricity on Shabbat and Yom Tov was not a violation of halakha (Jewish law).

Karelitz would have none of that, damn the science – and damn the halakhic facts, as well.

Karelitz ruled that electricity use on Shabbat and Yom Tov was forbidden biblically, claiming that the closing an electrical circuit need to obtain current was  prohibited as boneh (building) and the corresponding opening of a closed circuit was sossair (destroying), two of the biblically prohibited 39 Av (primary) Melachot (forms of work) prohibited on Shabbat (and for most, by extension, on Yom Tov, as well).

Billed as man who had studied science, Karelitz's opinion is laughable. It makes no scientific sense and no halakhic sense. Both of these points were clearly and very publicly pointed out by Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (d. 1995), the leading Israeli Ashkenazi haredi arbiter of halakha (Jewish law) for the past generation.

Auerbach held that electricity was permitted for Shabbat use under halakha, but a Jewish custom – fuled by the lies of Karelitz and others, including the last two rebbes of Lubavitch – had developed not to use it. He said as a first resort, Jews should follow the prevailing custom and not actively use electricity on Shabbat and Yom Tov. After the fact or in extenuating circumstances, he basically allowed any type of active electricity use, except for those that generated heat (an electric stove, for example) or light (an incandescent light bulb, for example).

In those cases he treated electricity as if it were a rabbinical prohibition with a remote possibility of a it being a biblical prohibition, even though he agreed it was not.

Therefore a doctor with a patient in a non-life-threatening situation would have to try to find a non-Jew to turn on a light to examine that patient. If that wasn't possible, a shinui (turning the light on with the doctor's elbow rather than a the doctor's hand, etc.) should be used.

But Karelitz was not Auerbach.

(But he was slightly more rational than the Chofetz Chaim, who did not stop his own electricity ban at Shabbat and Yom Tov – for the Chofetz Chaim's synagogue, that ban extended to weekdays, as well, as Rabbi Daniel Sperber pointed out.

That's right. The Chofetz Chaim's synagogue did not use electricity on regular weekdays.

Why?

According to Sperber, a scholar of such things, the Chofetz Chaim (d. 1933) held that hadash assur min haTorah, everything new is biblically forbidden. He had elevated the saying of the Chatam Sofer, Rabbi Moses Sofer (d.1839) from a pithy saying into halakha.

In Karelitz's case, banning electricity as a biblical violation of Shabbat law was almost certainly a political act by a man fearful that modernity – most symbolized by electricity and the machines and toys it had spawned, machines and toys that were now ubiquitous in the developed world – would destroy Yiddishkeit, the often backward Eastern Euorpean haredi Judaism Karelitz believed in and loved.

And so Karelitz banned it, inventing fanciful halakhic reasons to support his political aim.

(Rabbis could do the same thing quite easily – and with far less fancy, if any – to end the agunah crisis and put alleged thugs like Rabbi Mendel Epstein out of business, but they don't do it, often for the same underlying reasons Karelitz banned electricity.)

So 61 years ago today, the prime minister of Israel made a trip to Bnei Brak to see Karelitz in the hopes of convincing Karelitz that defending the nascent Jewish state from Arab attack was important, and that this defense needed haredi participation and the participation of women, even if the women only served as teachers, nursing home aides and childcare workers in a civilian national service.

Ha'aretz picks up the story from here.

…“There’s the question of existence, of preserving human life,” Ben-Gurion recounted saying to the Hazon Ish. “Shouldn’t love of [the People of] Israel take precedence over everything?”

The Hazon Ish responded that, although love of Israel and love of Torah may seem like two separate things, they’re not, because “there is no Torah without Israel, and no Israel without Torah.”… 

Aside from the Hazon Ish and the prime minister, the only other person present in the modest room, was Yitzhak Navon, at the time the premier’s secretary, later a Labor minister and Israel’s president. Navon, writing sometime later about the meeting, recounted how Rabbi Karelitz, responding to Ben-Gurion’s query regarding “how can we live together,” described a scene from the Talmud in which, when “two camels meet on a path, and one of the camels is weighed down with a load, and the other camel is not, the one not carrying the burden must give way to the one who is.” The moral of the parable, suggested Karelitz, was that, “We, the religious Jews, are analogous to the camel with the load – we carry a burden of hundreds of commandments. You” – secular Israel – “have to give way.”

Ben-Gurion, according to Navon, attempted to mount a counter-argument. “And the [second] camel isn’t weighed down with the burden of commandments?” he asked  rhetorically. “The commandment to settle the land isn’t a burden?... And the commandments to defending life aren’t mitzvot? And what those boys whom you are so opposed to do, sitting on the borders and protecting you, that’s not a mitzvah?”

Karelitz was not even able to agree, according to Navon, that the learners’ lives were protected by those serving in the army. Rather, he insisted that, “It is only thanks to the fact that we learn Torah that they [the soldiers] are able to exist.”…

Karelitz was able to find ways to occasionally rule leniently, including a ruling that allowed using milking machines to milk cows on Shabbat. (The cows suffer if not milked and can even become ill, which helped Karelitz find his lenient side.)

But all in all, what Karelitz did was political, not halakhic, and he is in many ways responsible for the sad condition of the haredi community today.

The tens of thousands of haredi men who sit in yeshivas (most of them not seriously studying) and/or work on the black market but refuse to serve in the military are ultimately his responsibility.

His decisions have propelled the haredi community into a form of darkness not seen in Western countries since the Dark Ages.

He and the Chofetz Chaim, the two most vernerated Ashkenazi rabbis of that era, are the perfect metaphors for that decline, one sitting in his synagogue made dark only because of his ruling, studying ancient texts by the rapidly diminishing light of a flickering, soon to be extinguished, flame; the other fancifully banning modernity to keep that small flickering flame burning at the expense of others.

Comments

[Yochanan Lavie]

1. He is not chareidi because he is wearing plastic frames (humor).
2. The same analogy can be used by the secular and dati leumi about the burden of army service (seriously).

[jancsibacsi]

I would describe his learning toireh as paralysis by anylesis,the learning of toreh paralyzed him from acting and living in the real world,fantasy took over his whole being.

[Wirbelwind]

Karelitz ruled that it was better to lay down one's life than to let one's daughter join Zahal.

Was the Chazon Ish right or wrong?

Some say that there is NOTHING sweeter than virginal Frumettes being deflowered in the IDF:

"Entering the army at 18, for most young women means their first experience away from home and their introduction to sexual intercourse. At headquarters there is much socialising, encouraged by regular army officers. Frequent parties are held, and the easy-going familiarity promotes an eroticism that is distinctly Jewish" (A History of the Israeli Army, Zeev Schiff, p. 124).

Others say that had R.Karelitz not ruled it a matter of yaharog v'al ya'avor, with the few Orthodox girls then extant in Israel being forceably conscripted in to Zahal, then today not only would there be no Haredim in Israel, there would also be no identifiable secular Jews either!

[ah-pee-chorus]

Thanks for this. I didnt know much about him besides the hagiographic bullshit i heard in yeshiva. he was nothing but a typical selfish, ungrateful ,delusional charedi leader quote mining the sources for what suited his opinion.

[seymour]

I do not get it frummies always quote Chofetz Chaim as set in stone.

therefore how could they use electricity

[seymour]

being frum is a burden that is not what I heard I heard it was a joy the serve god

[Jeff]

They tell themselves that, seymour, because they've been brought up to believe they'll go to hell if they give it up.

Gradual change is impossible. Their way of life is a form of child abuse that should no longer be tolerated. Their leaders must be regarded as incurably and criminally insane - lock them up in their ghettos, throw in food every now and again and wait for the miserable old bastards to die.

[shmuel]

Do u have some source for the statement that some chasidic rebbes allowed electricity in the 50's until the CC׳s ruling?
(asking seriously, not to counter)

[HavaMina]

Not all frummies quote the Mishna Berurah / Chofetz Chaim. He was a rosh yeshivah and therefore a theoretician and his opinions carry less weight than a rav who has to make rulings about real life situations for a living community. The Arukh HaShulchan is such a book - and many frummies regard it more highly than the MB. The Chofetz Haim said some disturbingly out of touch things. He also said some very erudite things. He was human. Like the rest of us. As for the Chazon Ish, he also said some brilliant things. And some hidebound, short-sighted things that resulted from conflating his religious politics with his rabbinic decision making. A lot of people do this - not just hareidim.

[Yosef ben Matitya]

some years ago, somebody mentioned here at FM, (unfortunately, I don't remember who) that R' OY z'l had described the chazon ish as 'the chazon bish', which I still find as a very snappy, funny and a very apt description.
indeed in this parable, the C.I demonstrates that the chareidim implement the minhagei sdom on the people of the country. whereby, those in yeshiva consider themselves under a heavy yoke & the poor soldiers, he expects to give way and assume a heavier yoke. the farce is still ongoing in our days.

[Frum but normal]

Shmaryah,as usual you don't know what you are talking about,he never banned using electricity on shabbos,all his followers use their own generators,he only banned using the regular electric grid,because jews are working
on shabbos to help supply the electricity,and according to halacha,if a jew desecrated shabbos by doing work for you ,you may not enjoy the fruit of that labor,
As far as putting on the lights on yom-tov,
no one but no one has permitted it,this has nothing to do withthe chazon ish,not one reputable halachik authority in the last 100 years has permitted it,
Shmaryah,do yourself a favor,don't bring up subjects that you know nothing about,it only makes you look like a fool

[Lo K'darkah]

Frum-but-normal (they used to call that an oxymoron),
What a shame.
You've spoilt what would have become an important (anbd useful) entry into Shulkhan Arukh HaRaSh"R - based on the pisqei halakhos of Failed Messiah from 2004 till the present. In fact, this latest psak was so hot, we had it earmarked as Hilkhot Shabat: Dinei Chashmal, Siman 770.
Unfortunately, the switching on and off of electricity on Shabbos or Yom Tov can't go in the mutar category now - even k-l-achar yad - until someone brings a source...
Well done on your 'normal' frumkeit.
But you should know this:
It is not 'usual' that Shmarya doesn't know what he's talking about. If you've got a point to make,why not be a dugma (that's a 'frum but normal' word, I believe) and show the dude (and his readers) some derekh eretz - and you might get a decent response instead of the ludicrous garbage I have just wasted time writing.

[Moisheb]

For some reason the charedim and the frume get excited and turned on with being restricted. They love oppressing themselves I think they equate that with religion but there are allot of normal charedim who know the score and just play along but we don't take this to seriously

[Sarek]

If one can't use anything that isn't mentioned in the Torah, then one should refrain from taking modern medicines and vaccines, allowing a doctor to use modern equipment, etc.

Also no transportation except camels and asses.

[Blidar]

1) The Chazon Ish only banned electricity on Shabbos because the generators were manned by Jews, he allowed electricty if it ran on its own generator.
2) Sperber has no clue to what he is talking about, the Chofetz Chayim travelled to the Knesiya gedolah in a car, which presumably had electricity. Nowhere in his Hilchos Shabbos does he ban electricity
3)The aruch Hashulchan only permitted opening and closing electricity on Yom Tov, he prohibited on Shabbos.
4) Most fires are caused by electrical wires in the walls, so electricity is fire which is prohibited on shabbos...

[פי האסון]

Some of you are giving an entirely new meaning to mixed salad, and the dressing being used is a vinaigrette made up of 1 part bull for every 2 parts s***.

61 years ago, Ben Gurion (BG) wanted the Chazon Ish (CI) to sanction the conscription of Haredi (an unknown description in those days) women into the Army for clerical duties. (In the 1950s women did not have combat roles in most armies, worldwide). CI viewed this as a step towards these teenage women losing their religious observance and would ultimately lead to 'illicit sexual activity' which is one of the 3 commandments for which a Jew is obliged to allow himself to be killed rather than transgress. Thus, CI refused, BG then asked if they would be permitted to take up civilian duties, like teaching, etc., freeing other civilians to carry out the military clerical jobs. This too was refused, without the aforementioned excuse.

To put things in perspective, in 1948 the total number of male Yeshiva Students of military draft age, was circa 400. It is reasonable to assume that the number of haredi 18-19 year old women involved, did not exceed this number. BG saw it as a matter of politics, that the more secular society should not complain "Why us & not them?", but it was not a matter that was worthy of a religious-government battle over.

I am not knowledgeable enough to determine whether CI banned electricity on Shabbat for political or halachic reasons, nor if his position was erroneous or just. I do know, that he did not ban the use of electricity per se, it was actions such as switching it on or off (as in light switches, fans, etc.), that he decreed it was forbidden on shabbat and mo'adim. He did object to using electricity IN ISRAEL on shabbat as the Electric Company employed Jews who worked in violation of Shabbat. He felt that any use of electricity by any individual ultimately caused another Jew to work on Shabbat. It is for his reason that still today, adherents to his philosophies use private generators on Shabbat, which do not require any human activity on Shabbat thereby no violation of the laws of rest.

The debate whether electricity is or isn't part of the biblical ban, started with the advent of the incandescent light bulb. The rabbis living in Israel tended towards considering it akin to fire - it gives heat and light, the rabbis in Europe who had the benefit of having the science explained to them, tended towards permitting it on shabbat. Whilst the debate is ongoing, the accepted practice is that incandescent lights are banned from being switched on or off as they are included in the biblical decree. All other electrical use, would be banned under a rabbinic decree, but it was decided that in order for people not to become complacent about electrical use on Shabbat and come to switch on a light, there would be no differentiation between lights and all other electrical use.

CI did add his opinion, which tended towards the stricter and harsher interpretations for the use of electricity. By no means was he the earliest to publish this opinion, nor was his ruling the final arbiter, it was merely one of many.

Both CI and Chafetz Chaim (CC) were exceptionally wise and learned men, yet they remained theologians. They had little, if any, practical experience of life outside the study halls, and CI never claimed his rulings should be applied in practice. CC did practice his code against defamation, and encouraged others to do so too, yet many authorities believe he elevated a negative character trait to the level of a biblical prohibition. As to his work Mishna Berurah, which sets out to codify the laws of the Orach Chayim, he is quick to quote other and frequently opposing opinions. And for each opinion he quotes there are many he does not, yet are practiced today in opposition to his rulings.

Laying the blame for the ills of today's haredi society, even partially, at the feet of CI is feckless. He had no sway in obtaining exemption from military service for Yeshiva students, there isn't even any evidence to show that he ever discussed the topic with any officials.

Ironic though it may seem, it is BG who shoulders that blame. It was at BG's behest that in March 1948, (before the War of Independence), Galili (Chief of Staff of Haganah) exempted 400 yeshiva students from military service. In 48/49 Chief Rabbi Herzog requested the exemption be extended citing the loss of hundreds of yeshiva students that perished in the holocaust, let these remnants continue that glory.

The exemption was expanded to include rabbis of settlements and small communities, dayanim, rabbis overseeing slaughterhouses and rabbis overseeing marriages. In 1957 BG further expanded the exemption to defer draft by 4 years for Torah teachers in cheders and talmud torahs, following which they would be required to undergo 3 months basic training and then would only be called upon as reserves. in 1968 a committee chaired by Moshe Dayan set the level for annual exemptions at 800. By 1977 the TOTAL EXEMPTIONS GRANTED reached 8257.

When Likud won the 1977 election as a coalition government, for the first time in history the haredi parties were in a position to leverage (blackmail) and obtained an increase in military draft exemptions. in the 8 years to 1985 exemptions almost doubled to 16,011 beside the relaxation of age limits and earning ceilings. Since '77 until the latest elections, the Haredi parties held the sway of coalition governments, and they abused those powers to the limits of their ingenuity.

Pre 1939, There were approx 3.5m Jews in Poland, yet there were a total of 15,900 Yeshiva students. Today, in Israel there 6m Jews, and in 2010 there were over 130,000 Yeshiva Students.

Do the math and convince me Ben Gurion is not at fault!

[Yosef ben Matitya]

this guy, 'Bish, doesn't look too kosher to me. a- his glasses, are even more treif than those of Voody Allan. Who knows, the frame maybe even plastic or turtle shell. b- his hat, r'l, too sartorial!

[Daniel]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But - facts posted should be true facts - and these are completely false.

Let me start by saying that I like this website and have liked it for some time now - as they offer fresh views on many topics. That is why this post is so disappointing to me.

However, this article, whether I or you agree with it or not, the facts are simply not true.

My father personally knew the Chazon Ish, and my grandfather had the Chafetz Chaim as a teacher. I have spent my life around people that liked them and people that didn't, so I'm used to both sided. But what's written here, is based on incorrect facts.

"When I mentioned to my grandfather that someone said that the Chafetz Chaim believed that electric wasn't allowed - he started laughing". Electric was regularly used by the Chafetz Chaim on a daily basis, and he's witnessed this. Why are you making things up?

Furthermore, the Chazon Ish was completely portrayed incorrectly in this article. One can agree or disagree with his views. One can say that he was to the right or to the left, and hate him for being that way. But, anyone that knew him or knew of him, knew clearly and agreed that he was from the most kindhearted men that have lived in this world. Whether his opinions were right or completely wrong, he still lived and breathed every moment to help another living person. I have heard many things said by people who didn't like his views, but I've never heard any one try to deny his kindheartedness. That is something that everyone always seemed to have to agree on. Why try to deny him the good that he clearly possessed? ...